Casten's Bill to Combat Authoritarian Regimes Exploitation of U.S. Financial System by Becomes Law with National Defense Act Reauthorization Veto Override

Press Release

U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) released the following statement after his legislation to curb the exploitation of the U.S. financial systems by authoritarian regimes was signed into law as part of the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) after the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to override the President's veto. Notably, President Trump vetoed this overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation ​that has passed with support from both parties for sixty years because he opposed the renaming of Military Bases that carry the names of Confederate soldiers.

Casten's commonsense, bipartisan bill introduced with Congressman Denver Riggleman (VA-05) leverages the combined federal expertise at the Department of Treasury, U.S. Attorney General, and other national security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies to uncover how authoritarian regimes and their proxies use and abuse the financial system of the United States.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently found that a group of North Korean and Chinese citizens was operating a multibillion-dollar money laundering scheme using shell companies to launder billions and help fund North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Given the breadth and scope of illicit financial flows, tracking can be too complex for any single financial institution, NGO, or law enforcement agency to manage individually. This bill brings expert agencies together to work collaboratively in order to evaluate exploitive actions by foreign actors and put forward policy recommendations to curb abusive practices and safeguard our financial system.

This bill was included in H.R. 6395 to reauthorize the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Prior to Trump's reckless but ultimately unsuccessful veto, the NDAA has been passed on a bipartisan and bicameral basis for sixty years. My Democratic colleagues and I fought to ensure this year's NDAA would include:

Supports our troops: with an increase in pay by 3.0% in basic pay for service members
Hazardous Pay for the Troops: Authorizing hazardous duty pay for service members in harm's way.
Base Names That Honor Our Values: Creating an independent commission to make binding recommendations on modifying or removing all names, symbols, displays, etc. that honor the Confederacy or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederacy;
Paid Parental Leave: Ensuring paid parental leave is extended to all federal employees;
Support for Military Families: Addressing the shortage in military child care and requiring improvements in military housing;
Veterans' Benefits: Including for those exposed to Agent Orange;
Tools to Protect our Security: Including related to cyber-security.
Casten said, "​I am pleased that the House and Senate pushed back against Trump's last-minute temper tantrum. This bill represents the work of both sides putting forward a bill that protects our national security and gives our service members and veterans the support they need. I am proud that my bill that strengthens our national security was included in this package. With authoritarian regimes and their proxies actively exploiting our financial system to further their corrupt interests--from political interference and tax evasion to heinous violations of human rights, insurgency, terrorism, environmental degradation my commonsense, bipartisan bill will serve to protect our national security and the sanctity of our democratic institutions. I'm glad to see it passed into law as part of a bipartisan, bicameral rebuke of the President's reckless assault on our national security and attempt to treat our service members, veterans, and their families as pawns in his destructive political game."

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